Aids-tainted Needles Stolen From Nurse

May 25, 1988

A duffel bag containing AIDS-contaminated needles was stolen Monday from a nurse`s car parked on the Near West Side, police said.

Thomas Koppes, 23, a visiting nurse whose clients include AIDS patients, reported to Monroe District police that a thief bashed in the window of his car parked at 1725 W. Jackson Blvd. sometime between 8 a.m. and noon and stole a blue canvas bag containing three used syringes contaminated with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome virus.

``It`s deadly,`` said Koppes, who works for Rush Home Health Care Center, 1700 W. Van Buren St., referring to the contaminated needles used to withdraw blood samples from people with AIDS.

The bag also contained 15 other used syringes and about $300 worth of medical equipment, including two dozen new syringes and a stethoscope, Koppes said.

Koppes said he had returned to his car to take the contaminated needles back to the medical center, where they were to be destroyed. According to a Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke`s Medical Center spokeswoman, the stolen needles were used on patients whom Koppes had seen recently.

Monroe District police and the Harrison Area property crimes unit are investigating the burglary, police said.